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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. field — for sport
  3. kid — to tease
  4. mate — to breed
  5. wind — moving air
  6. drill — the tool
  7. mate — a friend
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. drill — army training
  10. mate — a partner
  11. kid — child
  12. can — a tin
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. drill — a practice
  15. march — the month
  16. can — to be able to
  17. can — a tin
  18. wind — moving air
  19. field — a subject
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. march — music
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. field — farmland

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com